Elevated railroad



l(No Model.)

J. N. VALLEY.

. BLEVATBD RAILROAD'.

No. 446,272. Patented Feb. 10, 1891.

. @@@U @www ATTORNEYS UNITED i STATES 'PATENT met,

JOHN N. VALLEY, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

ELEVATED RAILROAD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 446,272, dated February 10, 1891.

Applicatiouiled August 7, 1890. Serial No. 361,307.V (No model.)

To all whom; t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN NAPOLEON VAL- LEY, of Jersey City, in the county of Hudson adapted for passenger or freight carrying purposes and also for use in timber-lands for getting ont logs, or at mines for transporting coal, ores, or refuse, or in other situations.

Mypresent improvements rela-te more particularly to the mode of suspending and bracing the elevated track-rail from the Stringer, which is sustained by struts set upon or in the ground.

The invention will first be described, and then will be particularly defined in claims hereinafter set forth.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure l is a perspective View of a short section of elevated railroad built in accordance with my invention, and shows a passengerfcar hung from the truck or trolley running on the track-rail. Fig. 2 is a rear view of part of the stringer and one of the hangers and chair-plates and their brace. Fig. 3 is ay transverse vertical section taken on the line .fr in Fig. 2, but slightly modified in construction; and Fig. 4 is a perspective View of one of the chair-plates and a portion of its hanger and the elevated track-rail.

The struts A, which sustain the kstringertimber B, from which the single rail C of the structure is suspended, are preferably made of two downwardly and laterally diverging posts a a, set in or on the ground, and are at their tops preferably let into opposite sides of the Stringer, where they are fastened by a bolt b, as shown in Fig. l of the drawings. Any suitable connection of the tops of the strut-posts with the srringer may, however, be adopted within the scope of my invention. There the railroad is to curve more*0r less sharply to the right or left hand, I connect the adjacent ends of the Stringer-sections pivotally by means of a pair of links a a and bolts ce2 d2, passed vertically through the onto a lower threaded end of the hanger-bolt E, and a jam or lock nut c may be also used on the hanger above the chair-plate, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The chair-plates will be supported about six feet or more apart, as may be required by any special uses to which the railroad is to be put or the loads it is to carry. Fig. 4 of the drawings most clearly shows that the chair-plates are each provided with an upper horizontal portion or body d, from one end of which hangs a flange d,which is preferably vertical, and is provided at its lower edge with a laterally-projecting rib or bearing cl2, and the rail or track O is made with a head portion c, which overhangs at one side of the rail-body c. and. whereby when t-he rail is placed on the suspended chair-plate' the rail-head c will overlap'the chair-plate l body d and the rail-body c will rest flat' against the chair-plate ange d and the lower edge of the rail will rest upon the lateral rib or bearing cl2 of the chair-plate, whereupon the rail will be fastened to the chair-plates by bolts or screws F, which preferablyhave countersunkheads f, which lie flush with or a little inside of 'the outer face of the body of the rail, so as net to interfere with the pendent arms g g of the frame of the carriage or trolley G, which has wheels g g traveling on the head c of the rail C.

The chair-plates are l each extended sufficiently beyond or behind their suspendingbolts E to allow connection of an efficient brace-bar H to the chair-plate and Stringer to steady the chair-plates and rail under the.

weight of the loaded carriage or trolley. I prefer at present to make these brace-bars H of iron and to provide each of them with a collar or shoulder h above its lower end h, which is set into a hole d3, made near the IOO outer part of the rearward extension of the chair-body, which may be somewhat reduced in thickness to save unnecessary weight. The upper ends of these brace-bars H may either be bent at right angles to form a spike h2, which will be driven into the Stringer A, as Shown in full lines in Fig. 3 of the drawings, or this end of each brace-bar may be left straight and be secured to the Stringer by a bolt, spike, or staple, as will be understood from the dotted lines in said Fig. 3.

The upper ends of the braces may be fastened to the Stringer by both the spike h2 and a bolt, if desired. It is obvious that the rear braces H may be made of wood fastened in any suitable manner to the chair-plates and Stringer. Veight or pressure coming upon the rail C by the passage of the trolley G along it will be counterbalanced bythe resistance of the braces ll, whereby the chairplate will be lheld level and the rail will be held from tipping over sidewise and the suspension-bolts or hanger-bars E of the rail will not be twisted or bent backward, whereby the durability of this very inexpensive and simple construction of elevated railroads is assured.

Fig. l of the drawings shows a passengercar I, hung by rod or chain bails to the lower hooked ends of the trolley-frame, and the car passes between the opposing posts c c ot' the struts A as the trolley runs along the trackrail C.

Any approved means for propelling the car may be adopted.

Instead of a passenger car or carriage, a freight-car or ore-box may be slung from the trolley G, or one or more logs may be hung in chains attached to the trolley, the railroad being thus adapted for passenger or freight traffic, and in any service it will prove to be economical as to first cost and maintenance.

Obviously the manner of sustaining' the track-rail from the Stringer by hangers sustaining chair-plates which carry the rail at one end and are braced to the Stringer at the other end is especially serviceable when the Stringer is sustained by struts made of two diverging posts between which the loaded trolley runs, as the steadiness given the trackrail by the braces H'prevents swaying of the rail and avoidscollision of the load with the strut-posts.

WVhile I prefer to make the chair-plates separate from the hangers E and slip them loosely onto the hangers, the chair-plates may be fixed to the hangers or may be formed integral therewith, as will readily be understood. n

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In an elevated railroad, the combination, with an elevated stringer, of hangers held thereto, chair-plates sustained by thelhangers, a rail supported by the chair-plates, and braces between the chair-plates and the Stringer, substantially as described, whereby the braces will steady the chair-plates and counterbalance the load-weight on the rail and prevent tipping of the rail, as set forth.

2. In an elevated railroad, the combination, with an elevated Stringer and sustainingstruts therefor consisting of two downwardlydiverging posts held at their upperparts to the Stringer, of hangers held to the Stringer,

chair-plates Sustained by the hangers, a. rail supported by the chair-plates, and braces between the chair-plates and the Stringer, substantially as described, whereby the braces will steady the chair-plates and counter-balance the load-weight on the rail and prevent tipping of the rail and the car or trolley traveling on the rail will run between the diverging posts of the struts, as set forth.

In an elevated railroad, thecombination, with an elevated stringer, ot' headed hangers held thereto, chair-plates held about centrally tothe hangers, a rail held at one end of the chair-plates, and braces between the other ends of the chair-plates and the Stringer, substantially as described.

4. In an elevated railroad, the combination, with an elevated Stringer and hangers held thereto, of independent chair-plates on the hangers, provided with a pendent flange and a projecting rib or bearing at the lower part of said fiange, and a rail fastened to the chairbraces between the chair-plates and Stringer,

substantially as described.

6. In an elevated railroad, the combination,

with an elevated Stringer and hangers held thereto, of chair-plates on the hangers, provided with a pendent flange and a projecting rib or bearing at the lower part ot' Said fiange, a rail fastened to the chair-plate flanges and having a head portion overlapping the chairplates, and braces between the chair-plates and Stringer, substantially as described.

' 7. In an elevated railroad, the combination, with an elevated Stringer and hangers held thereto, of chair-plates on the hangers, provided with a pendent flange and a projecting rib or bearing at the lower part ofsaid ange, a rail fastened to the chair-plate ange and having a headV portion overlapping the chairplates, and said rail resting also on the lower projecting ribs or bearings ot' the chair-plates, and braces between the chair plates and Stringer, substantially as described.

l 8. In an elevated railroad, the combination, with struts A, formed with downwardly-diverging posts a c, and astringer B, Sustained ICO llO

by the struts, of headed hangers E e on the ing a hole in the chair-plates, and provided st-ringers, chair-plates D on the hangers, a with a lower shoulder or collar h', resting on rail C on the chair-plates, and bracesbetween the chair-plates, :ind also having an inbent the chair-plates and Stringer, substantially as spike-head h2 entering the Stringer, substan- 5 described. tially as described.

9. In an elevated railroad,thecombination, T T T with struts, a Stringer sustained thereby, Jonk h' VALLE hangers on the Stringer, chair-plates on the \Vitnesses: hangers, and a rail on the chair-plates, of I HENRY L. GOODWIN,

ro braces H, havinga lower extremity h enterl C. SEDGWICK. 

